UNAMET impartiality?
UNAMET impartiality?
Preparations for direct balloting in East Timor to determine
whether the East Timorese will remain integrated with Indonesia
or become independent have been going on intensively, involving
both the United Nations Assistance Mission in East Timor (UNAMET)
and the Indonesian government.
Nevertheless, UNAMET staff members have already reported that
current conditions are still not conducive enough for
implementation of the direct ballot.
Such reports will, directly and indirectly, have an adverse
effect on the credibility of the Indonesian government in the
international arena. Pursuant to the resolution of the United
Nations Security Council No. 1246 (1999) on the establishment of
UNAMET, the Indonesian government has been assigned as a party
responsible for maintaining peace and security in East Timor. As
emphasized in the UN Secretary-General's report, the importance
of a secure situation is to ensure that direct balloting will be
implemented peacefully, honestly and in a manner free from
intimidation, violence or intervention from any parties. It is
also to guarantee the safety and security of UN staffers and
other international organizations, as well as observers during
their stay in East Timor (paragraph 9).
Tendentious reports referred to earlier are found in almost
every national and international report on the East Timor
question. Take a news story published in a national newspaper on
June 19 under the title of "UNAMET staffer waylaid by militia".
This news story implied controversy. On the one hand, it was
reported that an UNAMET staffer was waylaid by a prointegration
group (BMP) while he was visiting refugees in Liquica on June 17,
1999. On the other hand, the commander of military resort 164/WD,
Col. Tono Suratman said the statement made by the UNAMET
spokesman was completely untrue. The UNAMET team has never been
waylaid by the militia. Col. Suratman also said his party and
that of Ian Martin, UNAMET chairman, made the trip safely without
being waylaid by anybody at the same time and on the same day.
According to him, the intent of the report was to corner the
prointegration group.
Irrespective of the correctness of the above-mentioned
controversial news item, a close look at news reports on the
activities of UNAMET in East Timor reveals a tendency to corner
the Indonesian government, a condition justifying our doubt of
the role that UNAMET is playing.
In connection with the above, it would be better for the East
Timorese, both prointegration and proindependence, the Indonesian
government and the United Nations (in this case UNAMET) to
establish cooperation to promote alertness and remain consistent
in implementing safe, honest and fair direct balloting in East
Timor.
PUJIONO
Bekasi, West Java